Aberrant: Infinite Earth - Infinite Earth OOC: General Discussion

[Justin OOC]

I'd probably be up for this as well

[Doryoku]

(Kami/Professor here)

This then can prove an alternative as the Hikari Maru crew muddles along.

What sort of universe do we wanna make?

Here is what I would like to do.

- It is a universe where Novas are rare. Rare enough where we are pretty much taking the place of canon characters. I was thinking we could be a Utopia-like team.

[The Traveler]

I'll have to think about the new character then.

{resolved in person with Silv There will be results soon.}

[Mr Fox]

Ok, give Silv another week or so to step it up. Shoot him a pm also and if he doesn't respond then feel free to pick up the thread and finish it or close it and move to the next story.

As for the other idea, I'm thinking about character ideas, but I am fine with your game suggestion. I will say however, that I'm not too big on 4-color type games. I'm not likely to enjoy a game where the characters are paladin type heroes who go around doing nothing but foiling cliched bad guys and rescuing kittens stuck in trees.

[Stargaizer]

I was originally thinking about porting over Josh from UA, but when I made a 100np version, I realized that he had pretty much everything that I would want him to have, that there wasn't much room to grow, at least not within that character concept.

My next thought was someone that I had previously dreamed up but never played, Matter Man, with molecular manip, matter chameleon and matter creation. I think that could be fun and he has room to grow still.

As far as setting, I've never been a big fan of cannon, especially in Aberrant. Only part of that is because I still know next to nothing about it. I do like the ultra rare thing, maybe with a Naruto-ish twist in that each country has their own super powerful Nova/Mutant/whatevever that they use in strategic actions, and if one country were to get more or loose theirs it would cause a big shift in power. Otherwise something like Ta'varen from Wheel of Time, where 'fate', 'circumstance' or some other outside factor seems to 'push' or 'force' the group together.

Honestly, I don't know. With everything that's going on right now I think I'm going to see how I do with DR and UA starting to pick back up again. Not entirely for sure how much I can do right now.

[Dan Hawkins]

Fox, when have our abberant PC's ever been simple 4-collor types?

[Sailor OOC]

truth.

When I'm in a aberrant mood I don't want 4 color. I like a little grit between my toes.

Then again my angel with a dirty face always seems to be an idealist. I will post an idea up.

I think The Professor will be for the high-powered, high action and adventure stories. I will be willing to build a character with everyone and start in your universe if everyone is willing.

I talked to Silv, the issue is straight, I don't think a hard count is necessary. Particularly if Dan does what I think he's going to do as Mech.

[Mr Fox]

That's true.

I'm kinda thinking about doing a telepath, or maybe a mind theme, TK, TP, dominate, teleport, that sort of thing.

[Sailor OOC]

I'm thinking of a Mega Att character with a lot of piloting/mechanical skill. If it flies, floats, or drives, she's on it. And she can live to tell the tale if she crashes. Not really a true combat build (unless you build a BFG into her vehicle).

[The Traveler]

Okay, I don't know what Silv's situation is, so if I can't get a hold of him tonight and he doesn't seem to want to move foreward, we can close the thread out. This is killing IE and I don't want that to happen. I'm thinking something heavy just happened on his end RL, so I'm a bit worried. We can just say Mech blew the fleet away and warped everyone back to someplace safe (Like Brittania).

You can have the reigns for a story, Mech after this is all said and done.

[The Traveler]

Ok, here is the update.

I talked with Silv over the phone, looks like RL is really rolled him bad. He's told me that it is okay to simply close out the thread and we can start a new one among ourselves.

But... I wanna at least give Mech the "Happy Ending" he wants so... I am willing to at least let the incoming pirates taste some mech before we wrap.

So Justin... whatcha say we give this thread a viking funeral?

tl;dr: I've been given the reigns of Returning Shadow. It's just the two of us now.

[Sailor OOC]

In regards to new characters, has this idea moved yet? Fox? Justin?

[Mr Fox]

I'm up for it. I've created a character based around mental powers Telepathy, TK, Teleportation, Domination, etc. Nova name: Psi Cop. He has 5 backing, so I figured he would be the Nova for a particular country probably the US, or possibly the UN.

I think we need to discuss the world setting a bit more, and what we are wanting to do with it, what our conflicts will be, etc.

[Sailor OOC]

Hmm.

I'm thinking you might have a pilot. Well Pilot/Driver/etc...

Has a good secret-agenty style build with lots of abilities and mega-atts, and gadgets. Oh those superspy gadgets! With the mechanic skils I'll give her, she might be building some of them.

She could be helping your character on his missions as support, Mr. Fox. She'll be Japanese (Hey, all the cool stuff has "Made in Japan" on it after all...) and probably working for the same team you are.

Name: Kei Nagase

Codename: Tensai (Genius) 天才

[Sailor OOC]

As for a Professor adventure, I think I will continue on with her metaplot. Perhaps with Mech it is time to confront the Hive on it's own terms... Or perhaps save a universe under siege... or arrive at a universe about to be attacked but we repel it in the end... the possibilities are there.

[Justin OOC]

I haven't come up with anything yet, but I'm interested Let's make the world abit, and I'll make something to complement the other PC's

[Sailor OOC]

So how do you guys wanna collab on this?

[Mary Masters]

ok, I made a PM thread for I, Justin, and you, Fox. Let's get cracking.

Also, current story is getting a viking funeral.

The way only Long can deliver it.

[The Traveler]

ok Returning shadow is closed, Starting first week in march Episode 2 begins.

Also... Fox... Justin... let's get that idea going.

[Mr Fox]

I've been oncall at work the last two weeks which has been cutting into my time to be creative. That ends tomorrow morning, and I won't have to deal with it again for another couple months. So I should be feeling less stressed and more creative. Looking forward to coming up with some good ideas with you guys.

(Here's hoping I get to sleep through the night without my phone going off...)

[Mech]

sounds good

[The Traveler]

Awesomeness!

Also I'll follow your advice and keep this public. I'll add to this post in a moment, Fox, regarding Kei Nakano for this project. (Yep changed her name since the first name I picked was a direct rip off of a pre-existing character in a video game... stupid name generators...)

Kei Nakano

Codename: Tensai (Genius) 天才

Kei Nakano had a pretty stable childhood, good friends, nothing dramatic. Graduated from high school and entered the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. She always loved flying and took to her training with gusto. That was until a mechanic botched a routine maintenance check on one of her fuel lines. The engine flamed out and she was locked in a tight "death spiral". She put all of her effort, to the point of almost blacking out, to stabilize the aircraft enough to eject. By the time she had her senses about her again, she out of reflex pulled the handles of her ejection seat. She was only 100 feet from the water when she bailed. When the aircraft hit the water it exploded, and shrapnel shredded her parachute and she was too high to just fall in. Right before she hit the water she erupted. She thought she was going to die before realizing her dream to become the best pilot there ever was.

When she came to, she bobbed in the ocean, her head spinning with new thoughts and ideas, new flight strategies, and it was like her head was on fire. At first she thought she suffered an injury, but she wasn't bleeding and her helmet was on like nothing happened. In fact other than her heart-rate still being high, and the experience of the eruption which at first she thought was a hallucination from being in a panic. She was not aware yet of what happened. She laid back and waited for the rescue crews to hoist her back up after she activated her beacon.

Once she arrived back, one of the novas on-board sensed her node was awake. She took her aside and talked to her about a project being formed. One where they could use a pilot for the team.

Discovering she was a Nova was a shock. It was more of a shock when they discovered one of her abilities (after weaving eufiber around the internal weapons of her aircraft) she could use her powers through her aircraft's weapons. In fact any vehicle equipped as such she could do it to. In fact she was not only a natural pilot, but driver and could drive a mean boat too. Anything that moved was her's to command as long as it was mechanical. And she was tough, fast, stealthy, and wily. She was also mechanically gifted, and was comfortable modifying any vehicle she came across.

So after this period of discovery someone from an unknown organization gave Kei a call.

"Miss Nakano... we have a proposition. What do you know of the Stonehenge gate..."

==Thumbnail==

Kei Nakano is a aviatrix first and foremost, but she is no slouch in defending herself. She is the best person to have at the wheel, and her stealth and guile combined with a savoir-fair makes her a good utility in covert or diplomatic missions. She is also a genius mechanic and will modify ANYTHING to her specifications. She doesn't have many actual powers, except adaptations to high-G forces, low pressure and oxygen environments, and even vacuum. Outside of those she still needs air like everyone else. She can heal her own injuries and the injuries of others. She also can charge any vehicle mounted machine gun with her powers to turn ordinary bullets into death dealing bolts as long as there is some way to give her direct contact with the weapon (usually through a thin eufiber line starting at the joystick/wheel and ending coiled around the machinegun in the aircraft/car/boat). She also has the ability to sense her surroundings like a radar. She has 360 degree coverage on all angles, and is practically impossible to get a jump on.

Kei likes to dress either for her primary job of pilot, or dress casually. She is happiest in the sky, and will start to get jumpy when not flying. So this means she is most of the time in her flight gear, or wearing something street-casual.

[Mr Fox]

Nice character.

I'll put together a write up of the one I created after I get back from lunch.

[Mr Fox]

Let me take a moment to put this out there...

Telekinesis and Telepathy as a suite powers.

I have always felt that both Telekinesis and Telepathy lend themselves well to being suite powers and I have allowed them in other games I've run to be used as such. Given that this setting is all about being able to do things that you can't do in other games, it just makes sense to make it official in IE.

I have a couple problems with Telekinesis as written in the manual. It can only pick up one thing at a time and it can't be used to effectively throw objects with the same throwing rules that apply to mega strength which makes no sense when the rules allow you to basically use mega strength rules to move objects with TK.

There are tons of examples from comics/tv/movies of telekinesis flinging massive objects around, or lifting whole rooms full of objects at once, or flinging storms of rocks/debris at people, or even ripping them apart limb from limb. There are also examples of TK being used to shield the person from gunfire or other objects, and even to fly/levitate.

(For a great example see, Lucy and the other Diaklonias from Elfen Lies anime).

So to me it only makes sense for the power to be purchasable as a suite power to mimick these abilities.

TK Suite Power:

Shield (same rules as any other suite power)

Storm (same rules as any other suite power)

Throw (same rules as apply to mega-strength based on successes as per TK rules)

Lift (the normal TK ability to lift single objects) This would also be expanded to include the ability to lift and control multiple objects based on the number of dots you have in TK. 1 object per dot. +1q activation cost per object. (can't be used in combination with other powers, ie, you couldn't throw 5 objects at once, however, you could be lifting 5 objects and throw them one at a time based on how many actions you can take in a round.

Fly (same rules as any other suite power)

Telepathy as a suite power: (telepathy doesn't lend itself to being a suite power quite as obviously as TK but still has potential)

Reading Minds/Changing Memories (as normal)

Telepathic Link (create a semi-permanent link with a target that tells you their location in relation to you and general state of the person) 3q to activate. 1 link per dot in telepathy can be established and maintained at a time. Can dissolve the link at will. Willpower role to resist if target is unwilling.

Conference Call (the ability to bring multiple minds into telepathic communication) 3q to activate +1q per extra person above 2.

You can meld 5 people per dot in Telepathy, so you could do a maximum of 25 people. This is communication only, no mind reading or changing memories, etc. They can speak not only with you but with each other as well.

Mental Blast (like the lvl 2 power)

Storm (same as mental blast but as an area effect like any other suite storm power)

Questions or suggestions?

[The Traveler]

To be honest that makes sense. I would assume it would have the same Q Minimum and Level as Magnetic Mastery at minimum, since you are dealing with mental lifting/moving of objects using quantum power directly.

[Mr Fox]

Yep, both would be Level 3 powers.

[The Traveler]

Still a Q Minimum or 4 or 5?

[Mr Fox]

I'd say 5, but you can still take the regular non-suite version of TK and TP at the normal level as an alternative.

[Mr Fox]

Incidentally, I wrote that up today before going to see Chronicle, which I saw tonight. I've been watching Elfen Lies, I'm on episode 8 right now and if anything one thing can be said to be my inspiration it was that anime. However, after seeing Chronicle, I have to say, that I'm even more convinced that TK is perfect as a suite power.

If you want to see a good example of TK taken to extremes Chronicle is a good movie for it.

[The Traveler]

I am actually aware of the Elfen Lied series. That is extreme TK.

So got a concept yet for your Psi-Cop?

It would also be cool to hear any ideas from Justin.

[Justin OOC]

EL is just invisible tendrils though

I'd agree for level 3 q5

I am leery though of an area mental blast, as that's a level 3 power in it's own right....

[The Traveler]

Well, could have it's range reduced somehow to fit in the requirements.

Suite powers are supposed to be a bit weaker than independent powers.

[Mr Fox]

The mental blast area effect would work just like any other "Storm" power from any other suite. Can you explain why you see an area MB as so powerful? I would think it would actually be weaker because unlike the others all damage starts out as bashing rather than lethal, at least as I envision it. I am willing to reconsider if you can show me how it would be more powerful than Storm under the other powers.

As for EL, they can use their powers to shield against bullets and other damage, and during the fight between Lucy and the other one in ep, 4ish, Lucy appeared to fly, although perhaps she just threw herself up in the air...

I don't want to say anything about Chronicle since it is a current movie in theaters and I don't want to give spoilers, but Definitely a suite power!!!

[Mech]

resisted by Will, if it's like mental blast... not standard soak

One is generally much lower than the other and much harder to build up...

I realize that in EL, she's just using them as shields, and mstr to leap very far...

[The Traveler]

I would lower the effective range and overall damage in a way to bring a TK technique to that magic L2 equivalency. I'd trim more in favor of Damage over range though (Lowering Damage more than Range).

Still not thought of a character idea yet, Justin?

[Mr Fox]

How about this for a compromise, we'll make it bashing only, it won't roll into lethal.

The average baseline has 3 willpower to roll against my attack. I have 5 Int, 1 Mega Int and 1 dot of TP ( a decent number of dice). I'm going to average only 4 successes. Even if the victim gets no successes on their resistance, on average I won't even be able to knock them out with a blast. Most PCs have at least 5 Will and many will have as much as 7 or 8, so even if I had a good roll it's unlikely that I'd be able to knock them out.

[Mr Fox]

I should mention that the list of dice above is not set in stone, I'm still playing with the build. I could decide to focus on Telepathy, which is likely, in which case I might end up with 5 dots in Telepathy which would skew the numbers to give me an average of 6 successes. This would mean that I could knock out a room full of baselines with a pretty fair degree of certainty, but PCs would still be able to resist a knockout.

As the power is written it wouldn't take more than a couple rounds to knock everyone out, but how about instead of doing actual bashing damage, we make it "phantom" damage so that if resisted then the target takes no real damage, meaning that the next round they start fresh with no penalties (minus a dot of willpower if they spent one for an auto success).

[Mech]

that sounds agreeable, and I'm thinking more along the lines of a Face type character.

[The Traveler]

awesome. I should have some initial stats by the end of the week. As we all know Magi is starting this week as well as the next MA chapter.

[Justin OOC]

I know that in large part IE is supposed to be the anything can happen game place..

That said, I propose this for these new PC's, and indeed this new thread line.

No quantum above 6, ever.

No Q supremacy on badguys or goodguys.

No beginning play with mastery on any power.

I do have one beneficial to the player suggestion....

each odd dot in a mega attribute grants you an additional free enhancement. This has been alot of fun and added versatility to Children of Quantum Fires, and would give back some for the hefty suggestions preceding this.

I realize these are some hefty limits, but in my own experience, once things get past this, the game becomes awkward and unwieldly. We certainly might see more interest in a new game witihin a game if we can all abide these simple riules.